Let the 18-day smorgasbord begin: League, Cup and Europe. Barcelona won 5-0 last time out in La Liga - Jose Mourinho's worst defeat as a manager - and all the competitive clashes between the two since Madrid last won in 2008. But forget that, these four battles will be full of tactical nous and trump cards between Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, not to mention thrillers and talking points. Ronaldo v Messi will only be the half of it.

This will be a first meeting in the final for 21 years between the two giants following Barcelona's 2-0 win in 1990. Barcelona will be strengthened with the likely return of their captain Carles Puyol.

One of these teams will have some sort of bragging rights before the first of back-to-back European games. It also will be the first meeting since their clash in the 2001/02 semi-final, a year which will be remembered for Zinedine Zidane's stunning goal for the Galacticos in the Glasgow final.

Unlike The Karate Kid, Anaconda and Rambo, the fourth part of Real-Barça could top the lot. After 18 days and four matches, the television audience [500m watched the 2002 semi] will probably exceed two billion, too. Extra time? Don't bet against it.